Nehemiah 2 Success by God!

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Nehemiah 2:11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.​

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13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal[a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.​

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17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.​

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They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.​

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19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”​

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20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”​

I went out by night through the Valley Gate: It seems that Nehemiah set out from the west side of the city, and turned left towards the south, continuing counter-clockwise around the rubble of the city walls, until coming back to his starting point.​

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And viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire: Nehemiah wasn’t just sightseeing. Instead, he carefully studied the broken-down walls and the burned gates. The word viewed in Nehemiah 2:13 and 2:15is a medical term for “probing a wound to see the extent of its damage.”​

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The distress that we are in: Nehemiah wisely approached the leaders of Jerusalem. He had to. In the accomplishment of any vision or goal – or at least of a God-sized vision or goal, there will be certain people essential to accomplishing the goal – you must have their help. Nehemiah’s wise approach gives us an example to follow. ​

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Let us rise up and build: This response of the leaders of Jerusalem was of God. They said, “Yes, Nehemiah, we’re with you!” This was all the more remarkable considering the ways they might have responded – ways we might respond when we are challenged to partner in a work.​

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Sanballat… Tobiah: These two first surfaced in Nehemiah 2:10; they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel. They had previously made their opinion known; now they will seek to do something about the progress Nehemiah is making.​

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You have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem: Nehemiah proclaimed the truth about his enemies. They may have been Jews by birth; they may have been legal citizens of Jerusalem; they may have owned property in the city. But their hearts showed they had no heritage or right or memorial in God’s city.​

The third group of people that Nehemiah had to work with was the enemies. Sanballat was the governor of Samaria to the north. Tobiah, whose name is Jewish (“Yah is good”), ruled the Ammonites to the east. Geshem was the leader of the Arabs to the south. They all opposed a fortified Jerusalem because it threatened their political positions. They didn’t care at all about the plight of the Jews, much less about the name of the Lord being exalted in Jerusalem. So they were very displeased (2:10) and joined together to ridicule the project and accuse the people of rebellion against the king (2:19).​

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Nehemiah demonstrates both wisdom and courage in dealing with these enemies. He was wise in that he sensed, “This is no time for diplomacy. I need to meet these enemies head-on.” Any meeting to hear their concerns or to work out a compromise would have been a mistake. So Nehemiah courageously confronted them and drew the line between them and God’s people so that they could not join the project with the goal of sabotaging it. He didn’t use the clout of the king’s letters, but rather spiritual clout: “The God of heaven will give us success” (2:20).​

I'm drawing a blank this morning.... "Just do it" comes to mind.... "Theocracy" comes to mind..... "Seminary" comes to mind.... "They could not join the project with the goal of sabotaging it....." Thugs have been trying to destroy good things since forever, apparently.

These guys.... Sanballat and Tobiah.... now yesterday... I used the biblestudytools.com commentary as a witness and it said...:

When Sanballat the Horonite
Who either presided at Horonaim, or sprung from thence, a city of Moab, ( Isaiah 15:5 )​

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and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite;
who was formerly a slave, but now raised, from a low mean estate, to be governor in the land of Ammon, though still a vassal of the king of Persia:​

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heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there came a man to seek
the welfare of the children of Israel;
to which the Moabites and Ammonites were always averse, and ever bore an hatred to Israel, and envied everything that tended to their happiness.​

I'd like to say these guys are spreading fake news about Nehemiah and his project.... but it appears... Nehemiah has a plan and he's making adjustments along the way that guarantee success.... like riding the perimeter at night to survey the damage..... so the stupid human bullies think mocking Nehemiah in social media [of the day] will work. Sounds like another "stay tuned" moment.